“Argh,” Erik grunted in pain as he was pushed 10 steps back due to the attack. "Is it some kind of possession?" Erik questioned himself as he looked at the adventurer's emotionless face, regaining his composure.
"Quick step," Erik mumbled and instantly moved back, maintaining some distance from Aron.
"Excellus," Erik chanted, as he said excellus his wand began illuminating brightly, remoulding into a bright sword made of light.
With that, Erik clenched the sword in his left hand and raised it to challenge the possessed adventurer.
Erik and Aron dashed towards each other. Erik's sword, made with light, managed to take the first blow of Aron's blade. However, using only his left hand to hold the sword instead of both hands, caused some problems for Erik, forcing him to use all his strength to fend off the attack.
Erik looked at Aron, and an idea flickered in his mind.
"Quick step," Erik mumbled, vanishing from Aron's sight. Aron moved his eyes, trying to spot Erik. However, Erik was nowhere to be seen in front of him and reappeared behind Aron.
"Multiple lance," Erik mumbled, raising his free right hand and flicking it forward toward Aron. Two spear projectiles pierced Aron's right leg, his shin and lower thigh now impaled by the glowing weapons.
"Quick step," Erik mumbled again and moved back, maintaining his distance from Aron.
Aron, despite his leg being pierced, stood straight up without any expression on his face. It was as if he wasn’t feeling anything, confirming Erik's doubts.
No expression of pain, huh? It's not usual possession then is it, but it doesn't seem like he is in his senses either. Gravely injuring him is out of the question, Erik thought to himself.
He raised his wand and was about to cast a binding spell on the possessed adventurer in front of him. However Aron closed the distance. His legs exuded a flaming aura, similar to the previous time—a variation of the quick step that fire mages used.
Aron’s blade became enveloped in fire as he slashed it, targeting Erik’s left hand.
Erik dissolved his Excellus spell, which had formed the sword, and used his wand to block the attack. This time, he used both hands to block Aron's attack.
"Bind!" Erik shouted loudly as he struggled against Aron’s overwhelming strength.
Possessed Aron's eyes widened as if realizing he had walked into a trap. He tried to fall back, breaking the stalemate and jumping behind, his eyes still fixed on Erik.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“No, you don't,” Erik shouted as he mumbled, “Lance.” The projectile this time was a spear that appeared behind Aron, targeting his left foot.
Aron turned his attention behind him, slashing his flaming sword at the spear, breaking it into two in an instant. But this was no victory for him since he was now standing within the range of Erik's binding spell.
Thick vines made up of light emerged from the ground. each adorned with wrinkled green leaves. The vines lashed out, stopping Aron’s movements by binding his hands and legs. He was now completely immobilized.
A flaming aura began to emerge from Aron as he struggled against the binding spell. He grunted, his voice filled with something resembling anger.
Erik smiled at the sight and moved a few steps away from Aron.
“Don’t you know? The vines are meant to suck your mana, idiot monster,” Erik said with a smirk.
That’s when Aron’s body went limp. Completely drained of mana, he lay motionless within the vines, his head hanging down and his gaze fixed on the floor.
“I’ll kill you… I’ll kill all your teammates… Amelie, Rick, Noelle,” and… Aron murmured in an inaudible tone. “I’ll find you. I’ll kill you.”
Erik’s smile faltered, his eyes widening in horror. Monsters shouldn’t be able to understand or speak human language, he thought, staring at Aron in disbelief.
Snapping back to his senses, Erik glared at Aron. “Who gave you the permission to speak”, Erik said in a stern voice.
The idea of monsters using human speech was nothing more than a rumor among adventurers in the guild. But now, Erik was witnessing it firsthand.
He’s not just controlling that adventurer’s body… he’s pulling information out of him too, Erik thought. Narrowing his eyes, he raised his right hand and clenched his fist, causing the vines to wrap around Aron’s mouth, silencing him.
“It’s not your body, bastard,” Erik shouted, his voice filled with anger.
“You don’t deserve to use someone’s body to kill their friends,” Erik said, raising his wand. “And if you think you can speak using someone’s body in front of me, think again,” he said, glaring at the possessed Aron.
Erik raised his wand and closed his eyes. The healing sphere which was healing Amelie and others disappeared and the light elemental veil’s range began to condense around Aron. The possessed adventurer glanced at his surroundings and then at Erik. A drop of sweat ran down his previously expressionless face. He struggled against the vines, but every movement only made them tighten further.
Erik’s wand now glowed with the aura of light magic as he began chanting.
“The spirit has been suppressed, the body stolen. Purify the body, return the vessel, for the thing within it is nothing but a thief.”
As Erik completed the chant, five blobs of light appeared within the condensed veil, flying to specific points to form a pentagonal structure with Aron at the center.
Erik approached the structure at a slow, deliberate pace, stopping just in front of it. His gaze dropped to the monster ensnared within his spell.
Blobs of light shot beams downward, forming glowing pillars. Each pillar then fired beams toward the other four, connecting to create a star-shaped cage. The entire structure glowed brilliantly, bathing the area in an intense light.
As Erik studied the structure, the cage of light grew even brighter. The condensed veil began to dissipate, its mana flowing into the cage and amplifying its radiance further.
Meanwhile, Erik’s healing sphere had already worked its magic on Amelie and her party members. The bright light caused Amelie and others to wake up, shielding her eyes with her hand. Amelie tried to make sense of the scene in front of her.
“Just… what is that?” Amelie asked, her voice filled with awe. She glanced at the figure standing unflinchingly before the radiant structure, it was none other than Erik, the adventurer she had helped a few times back when he was just a newbie.